Reimu and Marisa Stay at a Love Hotel
by taiyakisoba
Summary: While investigating reports of someone crossing the Hakurei barrier into Gensoukyou, Reimu and Marisa find themselves having to stay the night in the outside world - and the hotel they choose to stay at is strange to say the least. A game of candid confessions brings the two girls closer together, but will a misunderstanding drive them apart?
1. Chapter 1

**Reimu and Marisa Stay at a Love Hotel** _by taiyakisoba_

"...so the only explanation is that someone from the outside world has been crossing the barrier into Gensoukyou."

They were sitting around the kotatsu at Mayohiga when Yukari dropped the bombshell. Reimu almost choked on her tea.

Bringing her own cup to her lips, the gap youkai arched her eyebrows as Reimu coughed to clear her throat.

"Intriguing, isn't it?" said Yukari. She leaned over and patted Reimu on the back with her free hand.

"More like alarming," said Reimu once she able to breathe clearly. "How are they doing it? Is there some weakness in the barrier?"

Yukari shook her head. "If there was we would have sensed it. No, I'm afraid we're dealing with something else. A powerful celestial or youkai, perhaps."

"I smell another incident," said Reimu with a sigh. "And just when I was getting some serious sweeping done at the shrine. I suppose we'll have to go to the outside world and investigate, then."

It was Yukari's turn to sigh. "My darling Reimu, I would dearly love to help you get to the bottom of this mystery, but I'm afraid my presence is urgently required in the Netherworld today."

"Yuyuko challenged you to another drinking competition?"

Yukari's smile in response was enigmatic. "I have no idea what you are talking about. I merely have to discuss some other matters of pressing importance with her. Of course, some tea and very possibly some rice wine will be imbibed, but purely for the purpose of refreshment..."

Reimu cut her short with a wave of her hand. "Alright, alright. I'll go. Whenever there's an incident that needs investigating, the job always ends up falling to me anyway."

"Wonderful!" Yukari clapped her hands. "But there's no reason for you to go alone. Why don't you ask your little friend the witch-girl to go with you?"

"Marisa?" Reimu frowned. "I suppose I could ask her, but-"

Yukari cut her off. "You'll need some support in the outside world, Reimu, You can't be expected to do everything on your own. Besides, it might be best for Marisa to lay low for a little while. I've heard on the grapevine that she has been borrowing a few too many items from the Scarlet Devil Mansion recently and has attracted the ire of that maid with the knives."

Reimu rolled her eyes. Marisa's light fingers were going to get her in some serious trouble one day. But the thought of spending time with her friend was not an unpleasant one, especially since Marisa hadn't visited the shrine recently. She'd obviously been spending all her time with Alice or Patchy or maybe Nitori - Reimu wasn't sure which of the three, and there was no way she was going to ask her. It was Marisa's business, after all, who she hung out with.

"I'll go get her," said Reimu, finishing her tea.

As it turned out, Marisa was more than happy to go, although she did put up a fight when Yukari insisted she swap her witch's robes and bloomers for what she called 'more appropriate attire.'

"And you'll have to leave your broomstick at home as well," said Yukari. "Otherwise the humans on the outside will think you're a street-sweeper."

"Why doesn't Reimu have to wear this stuff?" demanded Marisa as she picked her way through the clothes that Yukari had chosen for her.

"You'll be visiting the outside world city of Kyoto," Yukari explained. "Famous for its temples and shrines. The inhabitants are quite used to seeing priests and nuns and miko walking the streets, but a witch, I'm afraid, will stick out."

"You mean I'm not going to stick out in something like this?" Marisa asked, placing the dangerously short tartan-patterned skirt against her waist.

"It's what all the young girls your age are wearing," said Yukari. "Besides, I think you'll look quite charming in it. Don't you, Reimu?"

The miko stifled a laugh. Marisa stuck her nose in the air and turned her head away in disgust.

"Some friend you are," she said.

"One final item of apparel still requires your inspection, however," said Yukari.

Marisa took up the little pair of black and white striped underpants that the youkai was indicating and stretched the elastic waistband between her fingers. "These things? I dunno. Can't I just wear bloomers? These look like they'll ride up my butt."

"Oh, now really," said Yukari. "Is there really a need for such vulgarity? You will find pantsu to be more than comfortable. Why, I wear them all the time."

She lifted her dress up to reveal the red, lacy underpants she was wearing over her garters. Reimu slapped her hand away and the hem fell back down.

"No-one wants to see your lewd underwear, Sukima."

"My, my! Such rudeness."

Marisa was finally talked round to changing and quickly dressed. Aside from the short tartan skirt and the underpants, Yukari had chosen a form-fitting graphic t-shirt and a velvet blazer. Black boots with silver buckles finished off the whole ensemble, and Marisa herself, after looking in the mirror, was quite pleased at the transformation.

"I like the boots," she said, turning a calf to admire the line of her figure. "But it does feel pretty breezy around my thighs."

Yukari's eyes glittered above the fan she had placed over her mouth. "That is merely the feeling of freedom, my dear Marisa. You should embrace it."

Reimu had to admit that Marisa did look pretty cute. Her legs, usually hidden by the length of her petticoated dress, were really quite shapely and Reimu was suddenly thankful that her own chubby ones were not on display to attract comparison. The t-shirt, though, seemed a little small for the witch, the material taut against her generous breasts, and Reimu blushed when Marisa caught her staring.

The look Marisa directed at her was surprisingly shy. "Do I really look that weird?"

Reimu opened her mouth to say something, but instead she just shook her head.

Yukari fanned herself as she ran her eyes over Marisa's figure. "Yes, most satisfactory. I'm glad Reimu agrees."

She turned and handed the miko a little stack of paper. At first Reimu thought they were fuda, but there were numbers on them and the portraits of people she didn't know.

"Money," said Yukari, answering her unspoken question. "For your expenses. But don't feel obliged to bring any back." She drew her fan down through the air and a gap appeared. "Now you two girls go and have fun."

The shrine in the outside world where the intruder had initially crossed the Hakurei barrier was deserted except for a workman with a wet, hacking cough and a flock of crows struggling to take the netting off the bins to steal the rubbish inside. Marisa and Reimu quickly abandoned their investigation there, and following the signs of border instability that the miko could sense they went from place to place in the city in search of leads. They came up empty-handed every time.

Around midday they stopped for lunch in the park. Reimu had brought a bento, but after Marisa (who hadn't brought one) was finished pillaging it and kept complaining about still being hungry, they decided to go somewhere for lunch.

They settled on a beef-bowl place. Not only was it quiet, but there was a machine at the front where you could buy tickets, meaning that there was a smaller chance of making some mistake that would reveal them as strangers. Also, the rich scent of stewed beef was wafting from it and the promise of copious and delicious protein was more than Reimu could resist. Marisa enjoyed her meal almost as much, but it was the beer she enjoyed the most.

As she finished her third jockey with an explosive 'Ah!' of appreciation, the man behind the counter leaned over and smiled, impressed.

"I've never seen you two here before," he said. "University students?"

"Nah," said Marisa before Reimu had a chance to shush her. "Just an ordinary witch and a miko." She tapped her nose. "We're investigating an incident."

The man seemed unfazed by the reply. "We seem to get a lot of that around here. Just the other day I had two girls in here around your age. They said they were members of a Sealing Club, whatever that is, and that they were on their way to investigate a-"

But Reimu, worried that Marisa's loose tongue would get them into trouble, was already pulling the witch out through the shop's automatic door.

The rest of the day's searching proved equally futile. Eventually, Reimu had to admit defeat. Marisa hadn't really been much of a help and had been more interested in trying every single variety of can coffee she could find from the vending machines that seemed to be everywhere in the outside world.

She was trying one called 'Rainbow Blend' while Reimu looked up at the darkening sky and thought about their next move.

"How is it?" asked the miko. The sky had held no answers for her.

"Sweet, just like the others," Marisa replied, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand and pushing the now empty can into the recycling hole in the machine. "Ya know Reimu, I'm starting to think this is a wild-goose chase. Maybe Yukari is having fun with us."

"No, something is definitely going on," said Reimu. "I already told you I felt the presence of magic near the University. I think it merits more investigation tomorrow."

"So we're not going back home?"

Reimu shook her head.

"Suits me," said Marisa with a shrug. "But I guess that means we'll have to find somewhere to spend the night. Do we have enough money?"

Reimu flipped through the wad of bills. "I think we have more than enough."

"Where did Yukari get all that money anyway?"

"I'm sure I don't want to know," replied Reimu.

They found the locality map-board nearby and looked at the hotels listed on it. There seemed to be quite a few nearby for whatever reason.

Reimu read them out. "Hotel Happy Day? Hotel Stardust? Hotel Dulce Amore?"

"They all sound pretty good, don't they?" said Marisa.

As they made their way through the streets, they noticed that everything had grown quiet. There were no crowds here, just a few scattered couples walking hand in hand.

"Romantic town, ain't it?" said Marisa with a grin. "Wanna hold hands?"

"Oh, come on," said Reimu, rolling her eyes. She quickly walked ahead so that Marisa wouldn't see the pinkness that had risen to her cheeks.

The first hotel they came to was Hotel Happy Day. It didn't look like much on the outside, so they decided to walk in and have a look. Much like the beef-bowl place there was a machine displaying the things on offer, in this case the different styles of rooms, each with a button next to it. Some of the buttons were blacked out.

Marisa whistled. "They all look pretty fancy. Hey, this one has a spa bath!" She pressed the button before Reimu had a chance to stop her.

But when they went to the little window to pay, the man there wouldn't accept their money. They couldn't see any of him except his hands since the window was blanked out, and Reimu thought that she mustn't have given him enough. She pushed more bills under the glass, but then the man apologised and explained that he couldn't rent them a room since it was against the hotel's policy.

Reimu snatched up the money angrily and dragged Marisa away - the witch had started tapping on the glass and making veiled threats.

"What the heck was that guy's problem?" muttered Marisa.

"It doesn't matter," said Reimu. "Maybe there's some outside world rule we don't know about."

They were standing there on the street, unsure of what they should do, when two girls crossed over to them from the other side of the street. One was a tall, blonde foreigner - a real beauty, with huge blue eyes and an exquisitely featured but kind face. Her friend, who was pulling her along by the hand, was shorter than her, Japanese, with dark hair and wearing an unusual black boater-hat decorated with a white ribbon. Her face was plain, especially in comparison with her friend's, but her eyes were large and arresting in their intensity.

"Please excuse my intrusion," she said with a bow. "But I was wondering, are you two looking for a hotel?"

Reimu blinked at her. "Uh, yes, we are. We just got turned away from this one, although I'm not sure why..."

The blonde-haired girl, with a blush and downturned eyes, said hesitantly, "Oh, I'm sorry. A lot of the hotels here are not very... uh, progressive."

"That's conservative Kyoto for you," said the dark-haired girl with a rueful grin. "But luckily, not everywhere is like that." She shoved a hand into her jacket pocket and took out a card which she handed to Reimu. "Why don't you try this place? Merry and I stay at it sometimes. The beds are really soft."

Merry, the blonde girl, blushed harder, her gaze digging into the sidewalk at her feet. "Renko!"

The dark-haired girl Renko grinned at her. "Oh, come on Merry. We all have to look after each other, right?"

"Thank you very much," said Reimu, bowing, which in turn set in motion a series of bows from the other three girls.

"Have a good time!" said Renko with a wink as Merry grabbed her hand and started pulling her away, but not without a final bow farewell.

"Well, they were nice, weren't they?" said Marisa.

Reimu murmured something non-committal. She stared at the two girls' backs until they disappeared around the corner into the street they had just come from. There had been something strongly familiar about them, especially the blonde girl.

She turned her attention to the card in her hands.

"Hotel Vibrant Lily," read Marisa aloud from behind her. "Pretty name."

The card was printed on good quality stock and decorated with little gold lilies at each corner. On the back was a map. It wasn't far away.

"What do we have to lose?" said Reimu.

The hotel was at the end of another side street. Like all the other hotels they passed in the area, the outside was uninviting, although the neon sign advertising the place was large and obvious even from a distance.

Inside was a different story. Everything was glass and chrome and there were pot plants everywhere. There were a number of little curtained-off areas which Reimu decided must be for people to wait at. Did things really get that busy here? It seemed deserted at the moment.

Marisa was already in front of an illustrated button-display similar to the one they had encountered at the other hotel. She went to push one but Reimu slapped her hand away.

"It's my turn," she said.

She was still deciding between the different rooms that were still lit up - they all looked so palatial and fancy - when the front door of the hotel opened and two girls entered, giggling. They were both dressed in the uniform of office ladies and seemed a little drunk; one of them, the shorter of the two, a girl with twin-tails and glasses, was dragging her taller friend by the hand while she struggled melodramatically and kept whispering "No!"

The shorter girl, however, didn't seem to want to take no for an answer and pulling her friend to her, she slipped a hand up the front of her blouse. The taller girl gasped and pushed her away, but the giggling stopped dead when they both noticed Reimu staring at them.

Reimu, blushing fiercely, slammed a button at random and pulled Marisa with her to the front counter.

Just as at Hotel Happy Day, the only part of the attendant they could see was her hands. They were the hands of an older lady.

Reimu grabbed a bunch of notes and pushed them under the window.

"Will that be stay or rest?" the lady asked.

"Uh, stay," said Reimu. Stay or rest? Who on earth went to a hotel for a rest?

"Please take the elevator to the third floor," said the lady, pushing the room key with Reimu's change under the glass.

As they stepped into the elevator, Reimu risked a glance in the direction of the two girls who were now at the counter, still hanging off each other and giggling.

The doors shut. Reimu turned to Marisa and whispered harshly, "Did you see that?"

"What?" asked Marisa. She was examining the colourful menus taped to the walls of the elevator. "Hey, look! They've got room-service. I've heard of this..."

"Those girls!" said Reimu. "They- they were kissing!"

"Oh," said Marisa. "Yeah. They made a pretty cute couple, didn't they?"

"So they were a couple?"

Marisa looked at Reimu. If anything, the miko's blush had got deeper.

"Reimu, are you feeling okay?"

Reimu nodded.

"Do you think we can order room service? How much money do we have left?"

Reimu numbly took the money from her robe and checked. "More than enough," she replied.

Marisa grinned and rubbed her hands together. "Then I'm gonna order popcorn shrimp!"

Reimu slid the flat metal key into the handle and opened the door with a click. Marisa pushed past her and stopped dead.

"Whoa, Reimu. Check it out!"

The room was opulent, western style, just as it had appeared on the button in the foyer. It was dominated by a king-sized bed covered with a black coverlet and red sheets with a headboard covered in switches that Marisa immediately ran over to and started pushing at random.

"Hey, you can dim the lights and everything!"

Reimu shook her head in indulgent exasperation. Marisa was such a little kid! But it was hard to be really annoyed, since she was just as excited at the prospect of staying in such a lovely room. She quickly took stock of the other things in it: there was that thing called a television that Sanae was always going on about, hanging on the wall opposite the foot of the bed, a black, widescreen one. There were a set of remote controls on the counter beneath it, as well as a small bar fridge. She was about to open it and sneak a look inside when she heard Marisa cry out in delight, and she hurried to where the witch had thrown the door to the bathroom open.

Marisa was fixed in place, open mouthed, and Reimu had to push her aside to see what she was so excited about. But there it was: a huge, round spa-bath. It was almost as big as the private goemon-baths at the hot-springs of Youkai Mountain. Marisa turned to her and grinned, and Reimu found herself unable to control her smile as well. Since the springs had shut down, she hadn't really enjoyed a proper, long, hot bath, and the thought of one was delightful.

Marisa rushed into the bathroom and immediately plopped her bottom down on the edge of the bath and began to unlace her boots.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh come on, Reimu. Let's have a bath! I'm as sweaty as an oni and these boots have been chafing me all day."

She finished fumbling at the laces and struggled to pull her boots off. But her feet and calves proved to be tightly wedged inside.

"Little help, Reimu?"

The miko sighed. She knew she wasn't going to be able to enjoy a bath herself until they were off, so she grabbed hold of the heel of the boot and pulled while Marisa, her hands gripping the edge of the spa-bath, pulled in the opposite direction.

The tension of their pulling lifted Marisa's bottom from the edge and Reimu found herself staring right up her skirt at the striped panties that Yukari had provided her with. The miko blushed, hard, and looked down, concentrating on the boot in her hand.

And then all at once the boot slipped off and she fell back onto the tiled floor, still holding it.

Marisa's face was red as she got to work getting the other off, but this time, having already succeeded once, it proved much easier.

With the boots now out of the way, Marisa slid her socks off and flung them on the edge of the sink.

Reimu looked at them, and then at the witch, in shock. "What are you doing?"

"They smell," said Marisa. "So I'm going to give 'em a quick wash."

"In the sink?"

"Where else? There's no washing machine in this room, is there?"

"I'm pretty sure they have a laundry service," said Reimu.

"What, really?"

Reimu moved over to the sink and looked at the offending garments. They looked as sodden as if they'd been left soaking in a bucket of water.

And they did smell. Reimu recoiled backwards and turned on Marisa.

"Get them off there and put them in a bag or someth-!"

Her voice dropped away, for Marisa had stood up and was slipping her skirt down. She had already taken off her t-shirt and blazer and had flung them on the side of the bath, and was now dressed only in her matching black-and-white lace bra.

Reimu found herself staring. She wanted to say something, but although her mouth opened, nothing came out.

Marisa draped her skirt messily on top of the rest of her clothes and looked at the miko staring at her. "What? Am I wearing these things inside-out or something?"

"What?" repeated Reimu. It was all she seemed able to articulate at that moment.

"That's what I said," said Marisa, grinning. "Now get your own gear off. This spa is big enough for ten people!"

She turned around and began fiddling with the controls and soon the air of the bathroom was filled with billowing steam.

Reimu was glad for it. Not only did it mask the half-naked witch from her, it also gave her the chance to take her own clothes off without Marisa seeing. She took off her ribbon and untied her robes and left them in a neat pile near the door. She was in the middle of unravelling her sarashi when first a black-and-white bra and then a pair of black-and-white panties, having been blindly thrown at the sink, came flying out of the mist, missing her by an inch.

"Marisa!"

Marisa's voice came from deep within the mist. "Sorry Reimu." It was followed by a splash as a body was thrown into the water. "Hey, hurry up and strip off. The water's wonderful!"

Reimu resumed unravelling her sarashi. She glanced at the bra and pants lying on the sink and blushed hot.

Such flashy underwear. Just the sort of thing Yukari was always bullying her with, trying to get her to wear it, saying that she was too young to be wearing fundoshi.

But it was very pretty underwear. And Marisa had looked cute in it from the glance she'd stolen of her. Reimu slipped the final bit of the sarashi off and left the material, which she had been binding around her wrist, on her robes. Her breasts felt good to be out of it, but as she ran her hands over her chest, massaging away the red lines the sarashi had left, she felt disappointment.

She could never wear underwear like that. You needed boobs to look good in it. And she barely had any cleavage whatsoever.

There was a splash and a jet of hot, foamy water flew onto her cheek from the mist.

"C'mon Reimu! What are you doing out there?"

Reimu said nothing, but quickly slid her fundoshi off and then tiptoed blindly through the mist until she felt the cool edge of the spa bath come up against her knees and thighs. She could see the suggestions of a figure waiting in it, and as she clambered over the edge, arms loomed out from the steam and grabbed her.

She gasped as she slid down into the hot, foamy water, and Marisa laughed as she splashed at her.

"Hey, stop it!" Reimu cried.

"What took you so long? They're no reason to do a strip-tease if no one can see you, ya know."

Marisa ceased her attack and rested back on her elbows, lifting her feet out of the water.

"Hey Reimu? Can I ask you something?"

"Mmm?" The hot water cocooning Reimu's tired body was already making her feel relaxed to the point of sleepiness, so it took some effort to open her eyes. When she did, she found a slender and glistening foot staring her in the face.

"Do my feet still stink?"

Reimu scrambled backwards and Marisa leapt forwards into the water and resumed her attack. Soon Reimu gave up trying to protect herself and began splashing the witch back. The foamy water surged like a tsunami against the sides of the spa-bath as the two, laughing, fought each other to a sopping and exhausted standstill.

Marisa chuckled as she pushed a sodden lock of blonde hair out of one eye. "Okay, okay. I deserved that. But they don't really stink anymore, do they?" She returned to rubbing wads of bubbles across her feet and calves.

Reimu shook her head. She found herself watching Marisa as she washed, and mixed in with her annoyance at how slipshod a job she made of it, she felt a twinge of jealousy. Marisa was so comfortable with everything - her own body, interacting with other people, dealing with the strangeness of the outside world. Reimu slid down deeper into the water, up to her neck, shielding herself with the foam as she remembered how embarrassed she'd felt when she'd seen those two girls earlier. Marisa hadn't even batted an eyelid.

She knew she was older than the witch-girl, but being older didn't necessarily mean being more experienced. It annoyed her. In fact, Marisa very often annoyed her just by being Marisa. How could she look that way and still act in such a forward and uninhibited and, well, vulgar fashion? Throwing her underwear around, sticking her feet in another person's face, and now lying back against the edge of the bath and rubbing foam all over those big breasts of hers right in front of her?

Under the cover of the water Reimu slid her hands over her own breasts without thinking. It was just another way she came second to Marisa.

Marisa caught her eye. She was grinning.

"Wanna get out? My skin's getting wrinkly skin, and anyway, I'm starving."

Marisa flicked some foam from her shoulders and then stood up, the water sluicing from her bath-warm body. Her skin was vibrant pink, glistening with a few errant beads of water that the witch brushed at with impatience. She turned and stepped out of the bath, her blonde hair plastered against her lower back, the curve of her hips and buttocks vanishing behind the still-thick veil of steam.

Reimu quickly and methodically washed herself then got out as well. She squeezed the excess water from her hair and then pressed the button that lifted the plug in the bath. The echoing sound of the water being suck out was so loud that she didn't hear Marisa come up behind her.

She squealed and took a step back, but Marisa was just handing her a towel.

"They've got big fluffy ones," the witch said by way of explanation. "Hey, did I scare you?"

"A bit," replied Reimu, blushing as she enveloped herself in the huge towel. It felt good to be covered in its soft, expansive warmth. "I thought you were going to snap me with it or something."

"I thought about it," said Marisa. "But you looked so fierce after the whole foot-thing, I decided not to."

"Fierce?" Reimu stopped rubbing at her shoulders with the towel. "Really?"

Marisa grinned. 'Haha. Yeah."

Reimu went back to drying herself. Fierce wasn't a word she'd have used to describe herself.

"Hey, you know what's missing?" said Marisa suddenly.

"What?"

"Cold milk."

"It's just a bath, Marisa. It's not an onsen."

"It's big enough to be one," said the witch. "Anyway, I wonder if I can order some in room service..."

Reimu sighed. Yukari wasn't going to see any of the money returned. Not that the youkai could care less about it, she realised. But Marisa being so profligate with other's money annoyed her.

Well, that was Marisa for you. Reimu guessed she saw the money as hers now, anyway, just like she did anything else she 'borrowed'.

Marisa was already lying on her stomach on the bed, flipping through the brightly coloured laminated room-service menu when Reimu came in, brushing her hair after drying it with one of those machines that blow hot air.

She'd already decided to ask the kappa if they could make one. They were certainly very convenient.

"Aren't you going to dry your hair properly?" asked Reimu. "They have one of those drying machines in there. It's pretty easy to use."

"Nah," said Marisa. "I can't be bothered. I'll just let it dry naturally."

"It'll get tangled," warned Reimu.

"I kinda like working the knots out," said Marisa. She looked up from the menu. "Anyway, I get knots even if I do try and dry it properly. It's just my hair type. Not everyone is lucky enough to have nadeshiko hair like you."

Reimu snorted, but she was pleased by the compliment. "Oh, I wouldn't call it that. The secret is brushing it a hundred times every day."

Marisa's eyes went wide. "A hundred?"

Reimu nodded. "Every day."

"Aw, nuts to that."

Reimu sat down and continued to brush as she looked down at the menu as Marisa continued to read.

"Do they have milk?"

Marisa shook her head. "I kinda feel like beer now."

"There's a bar fridge," said Reimu. "I think that's what it's called. Anyway, they usually have beer in them, right?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that."

"I'll go check," said Reimu, getting up.

"Hey Reimu?"

"Yes?"

Marisa's gold eyes sparkled. "Are you counting under your breath?"

Reimu blushed.

She walked over to the fridge and opened it. There were several rows of plastic compartments built into it, each with a price. There was beer and juice - and milk! - but there were also a series of other odd items.

"Hey Marisa," Reimu called.

"Yeah?"

"What's a personal massager?"

"A massager? Oh, it's just a machine for massaging yourself."

"Oh," said Reimu. They were pretty expensive. She looked at the different kinds. There were all sorts of shapes, some of them actually rather lewd. As a miko, she had of course seen many wooden offerings and other sacred objects in that particular shape, but it was quite another thing to see plastic ones sitting in a fridge in your hotel room.

She came back in and handed the little box of milk she had found to Marisa.

"Thanks." The witch blinked at the miko. She had an odd expression on her face, and the skin on her cheeks and neck was flushed. "Hey, is everything okay?"

Reimu nodded. "It's just - well, the outside world is a bit different from Gensoukyou, isn't it?"

Marisa chuckled. "Yeah, it's pretty odd. Not as strange as Makai, though." She slid the menu under Reimu's face. "Do you want to order anything from room-service?"

Reimu had a look at the menu. She decided on some senbei and some rice wine.

"Pick the most expensive kind," said Marisa, grinning. "Yukari's paying, after all."

Reimu laughed. "I guess you're right."

As Marisa made the call from the room's phone, Reimu realised she was actually having fun. It was kind of like a sleepover in a way. Being away from the shrine was helping to clear her head of some of the cobwebs that had begun to collect in it. She was especially looking forward to the rice wine.

Marisa got off the phone. "Oh, and I organised the laundry service as well for our clothes. They'll be ready tomorrow morning."

"What can we wear until then?"

"Well, I'm happy just being in this bathrobe. But I think I saw some clothes you can hire in another one of those menu things."

Reimu found the menu Marisa was talking about beneath the television. It was full of pictures of girls dressed in different kinds of strange outside world clothes, many of which Reimu had never seen before.

"Race Queen, School Girl, Cat Girl?" Reimu furrowed her brow as she read. "Don't they have any normal clothes?"

"They have miko robes," said Marisa, pointing.

"Those are not real miko robes," sniffed Reimu. "I guess all this stuff is just fancy-dress."

"Well I think you'd look pretty good in any of these things," said Marisa, suddenly serious. "You know, I don't think I've ever really seen you wearing anything other than your robes. Except at the onsen, of course. I was kinda disappointed when I found out that Yukari wasn't going to dress you up like she did me."

"Marisa," said Reimu. She had flipped further into the menu and found a number of very strange items of dress indeed. "I- I don't think this is a normal hotel. There were some odd things in the fridge. And these clothes - some of them look awfully, well... lewd to me."

Marisa said nothing but tossed a little booklet to Reimu.

"What's this?"

"TV guide."

Reimu quickly read through the booklet. Her skin began to flush.

"After School Girl Friends? Forbidden Soap Service Training? Erotic Idol Audition?" Her voice was little more than a whisper as she read out only the least raunchy titles. "Is this some sort of weird outside world joke?

Marisa sat up on the bed. "Reimu, this is a love hotel."

"A love hotel?" The miko furrowed her brow for a moment and then brought a hand to her mouth and blushed. "No. You don't mean-!"

"Yeah, remember Sanae was telling us about them last time we all got together for hanafuda?"

Reimu's blush deepened. "When did you realise?"

Marisa's smile was an embarrassed one. "Well, I kinda guessed when we saw those two girls in the lobby."

"The... the couple?"

"Yeah. It all started to fall in place. But this isn't one of those normal love hotels Sanae was talking about. This is one just for girls."

"Girls?"

Reimu lay back on the bed. She felt suddenly hot everywhere. How could she have been so naïve and stupid? Getting turned away from the earlier hotel, Renko and Merry, talking about Kyoto being 'conservative', the girls in the lobby...

She got up and started to get her clothes where she'd left them folded neatly on the edge of the bed.

Marisa bolted upright. "Hey, hey! What are you doing?"

Reimu stopped and looked at the witch in amazement. "We have to leave, Marisa! We can't stay in a hotel like this."

"Why not?"

"Well, it's - it's embarrassing. And people will get the wrong idea."

"Who'll get the wrong idea?" demanded Marisa. "No one knows about it."

Reimu sighed in exasperation. "It's a love hotel, Marisa!"

Marisa chuckled. "We don't need to do anything, you know. It's not like it's compulsory for everyone staying at a love hotel to make love."

Reimu stared at her. "What?"

Marisa flushed. "What I mean is, the whole love thing aside, it's really just like a normal hotel. Didn't you enjoy the bath?

"Well, yes, but-"

"Aw, c'mon. Lighten up a little. You know what you need? A drink!"

There was a knock on the door.

"Right on time," said Marisa.

When they opened the door there was no one there, just a few little trays with the things they'd ordered as well as a bag for their laundry. Despite Reimu's protests, Marisa shoved their clothes into the bag and left it outside.

"Have a drink and relax," said Marisa. She shoved the little glass in Reimu's hands and poured her some rice wine.

Reimu held the glass dumbly. Then she lifted it to her mouth.

Her eyes went wide. "It smells good!"

"The best Yukari's money can buy," said Marisa with a chuckle.

Reimu giggled as well. Marisa was right. What did it matter? They were in the outside world. There was no need to be the miko of Hakurei right at the moment. If only for a little while, perhaps she could be just plain old Reimu.

She drank the rice wine. It tasted like water but burnt like fire at the back of her throat. Marisa lifted the bottle before the miko's face and mimed pouring it. Reimu nodded and Marisa poured her another.

"Did you order popcorn shrimp?" There was a delicious savoury and greasy smell and Reimu found herself hungrier than she expected.

"Of course," said Marisa. "I ordered your senbei as well. There was parfait on the menu, too, but I guess you might want to wait until later to have that."

Reimu's face lit up. "Parfait?"

They lay back on the bed. Marisa's fingers were soon glistening with the oil from the shrimp, her lips as well. She cracked open a beer and took a long drink, gasping with delight at the end of it.

"Ah! Y'know, we have to bring some of this beer back with us."

Reimu nodded. She wasn't really listening. "Marisa, can I ask you something?"

"Sure. Fire away." The witch took another drink.

"Those girls... Renko and Merry. They... they were a couple too, right?"

"Yeah. I think so."

"Oh. Really? A couple?"

"Well, ya know, fate brings people together sometimes. They say opposites attract, too."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, look at those two. A real beauty and, well..." Marisa rubbed the side of her nose. "Renko was cute as well, I suppose, but nowhere in the same league. She was dark and kind of mousy."

Dark and mousy. Reimu drew the fingers of one hand through her almost-dry hair.

Merry had been beautiful, though. She'd seemed so familiar in a way that was hard to put a finger on. It was more than that she reminded Reimu of someone. It was very much as if they had met before.

"Hey, do you want some popcorn shrimp?"

Reimu shook her head.

"Aw c'mon, they're delicious."

"I know they are," said the miko. "I just don't like getting my fingers all greasy."

"Well, that's easily fixed." Marisa scooshed closer to Reimu and stuck a shrimp in her face. "Say ahn!"

Reimu opened her mouth in surprise and Marisa, taking it as consent, popped the shrimp inside. With her mouth now full, Reimu's protest was cut off and she had no choice but to eat it, her cheeks pinking in embarrassment.

"Delicious, huh?" Marisa grinned.

It was delicious. Reimu dropped her eyes to her lap, chewed a last few times, and swallowed.

When she looked up Marisa was dancing another shrimp before her.

"Seconds?"

Reimu's cheeks got hotter and she shook her head no. She wanted another, but there was no way she was going to allow Marisa to feed her.

The witch looked disappointed and popped the shrimp into her own mouth. "Oh well, your loss," she said as she chewed.

Reimu turned her face away. She was sure Marisa was doing it on purpose to annoy her. She lay back on the bed and fiddled with the remote control. The little device was such an outside world thing - covered in buttons and completely incomprehensible. Of course the kappa made similar things in Gensoukyou, but they were far simpler to use.

Marisa saw her. "Wanna watch something?" she asked.

Reimu put the remote down. "They only have those lewd channels, right?"

"There might be something not quite so lewd," said Marisa, picking up the little TV guide. "Let's have a look..." She brought a finger down on the page. "How about 'Blushing Girls' Onsen'? You like onsen, right?"

Reimu refused to meet her eyes. "Oh, anything is fine," she muttered.

Marisa shrugged and after a bit of fiddling with the remote she found the correct channel. The two of them lay back on the bed and watched. The story had already started and seemed to revolve around two female friends visiting an onsen as per the title.

Marisa sighed as she watched the two girls sitting in their yukata and eating kaisekiryouri in their tatami room. "It's a shame Satori shut down the onsen, isn't it?"

Reimu snorted. "This is boring."

"Aw, I don't know. Give it a chance."

The two girls on the TV were joking around with each other: it seemed that they were friends from university. One was pouring rice wine for the other when she spilled it all over her friend's yukata. The smaller girl shrieked in melodramatic horror and stared down at the now-glistening pink expanse of her cleavage.

Her friend suggested that she change and very helpfully peeled the yukata from her shoulders. The smaller girl watched with wide eyes, but after a half-hearted attempt to stop her, she let her do whatever she wanted.

"Wow, the little one's pretty busty, ain't she?" said Marisa. She'd finished the popcorn shrimp and was wiping her hands on her bathrobe.

Reimu muttered something incomprehensible in response. Her eyes were glued to the TV. She'd known that the outside world had "spring movies" like this, but she'd never seen one before. It was obvious that the story was essentially meaningless, and it was all just an excuse for the girls to get naked.

Marisa was right, though. The girl had a really nice body. Seeing it on screen gave Reimu a chance to really see what another girl looked like naked. Of course, she'd been to onsen many times, but she'd only ever stolen a glance at other girls. It was creepy to do more than that, after all.

In the movie, the taller girl with the long legs had tossed aside the smaller girl's robe and began to take her own off. Somehow it was to make the other feel less embarrassed by being naked on her own.

Reimu bit her lip. "Couldn't she just get her a towel or something?"

Marisa laughed. "Yeah, I was wondering the same."

The taller one soon made an excuse to join her friend and the two of them sat side by side as they poured each other rice wine. They soon fell to giggling again, and the smaller girl suddenly placed her head on the taller one's shoulder. The taller girl's expression was one of surprise, but then she brought her arm up around her friend's shoulder and drew her closer. The smaller girl looked up at her, questioning, and the taller girl leaned down and kissed her.

On the lips.

The smaller one broke the kiss, a look of surprise on her face. But then she threw her arms around the taller girl and pulled her down onto the zabuton, kissing and licking her neck as her hands slipped forward onto her breasts.

Reimu had been watching in something akin to a daze, but now she made a panicked scramble for the remote and began pressing buttons at random. An avalanche of images flickered across the screen, many of them even more lewd, until she finally found the power button and the screen, to her relief, went black.

"Aw!" cried Marisa. "Just as it was getting interesting."

"I think I've seen enough," said Reimu. She felt hotter now than she had fresh out of the bath. Her skin prickled her all over. She looked at Marisa, who was licking grease off her fingers. The witch leaned forward to grab another can of beer, and Reimu found herself staring down the front of her bathrobe.

Free of their bra, Marisa's boobs looked huge.

Marisa's eyes caught her gaze and held it as she popped the tag of the beer can and took a swig.

"Want some?" she asked, holding the can towards the miko.

Reimu looked at it in a mixture of disbelief and horror. The rim of the can was greasy from Marisa's lips. She shook her head no and instead poured herself another tumbler full of rice wine. It did little to calm her down as she'd hoped. The prickling was still there. But at least Marisa had had the decency to sit back on the bed. Her bathrobe was very loosely tied, though, and seemed ready to fall off at any moment.

Reimu frowned. All of this was so like Marisa. How could she always be so relaxed, so at home in every situation? Didn't she ever feel awkward or embarrassed? It was almost arrogance, in a way: as if no one else's opinion mattered enough to her to be worried about anything.

I'm just being jealous, Reimu decided, horrified by the intensity of her feelings. Seeing how big Marisa's boobs are, how she can eat all that junk and still have slim thighs and legs like that. How she never worries about anything and gets away with everything. Everyone forgives her. Because she's Marisa.

"Hey Reimu?"

The miko looked up. Marisa's expression was startlingly serious.

"I- I haven't made you angry or anything, have I?"

"What?" Reimu shook her head, hoping her guilt didn't show on her face. "Of course not. Why?"

"You just went quiet and looked really fierce for a while."

Fierce. That word again. Did she really look fierce all the time?

Marisa leaped onto her feet on the bed, the robe beginning to slip from her shoulders. A flash of shower-pink skin and then Marisa was cramming both sides of the robe back together and tying the belt back up.

"Whoops," she chuckled. She hopped across the bed and grabbed up the phone.

"What are you doing?" demanded Reimu, expecting another prank.

Marisa put a finger to her lips and whispered rapidly into the phone before slamming it back down again.

"I need more beer," she said. "And you have a date with a parfait."

Reimu opened her mouth to protest, but straight away closed it again. Maybe she should stop complaining so much. Maybe that's what was making her seem so fierce. Let Marisa order her a parfait. How was that going to hurt?

Besides, Reimu really did want to try it.

Thanks to Marisa's efforts the awkward atmosphere was broken. The two sat back down on the bed and took it easy, drinking and chatting until room-service arrived.

The parfait looked just as delicious as it had appeared in the menu.

"It's too beautiful to eat," said Marisa, frowning.

Reimu picked up the long spoon, a wicked expression on her face. "Just watch me."

Marisa shouted "No!" and made to grab the spoon, but Reimu waltzed the parfait out of range and started spooning cream and fruit and jelly into her mouth in a mad rush until she almost choked.

Marisa flopped herself back onto the bed and started laughing.

"Whfwaht?" asked Reimu, her mouth full.

"Your cheeks!" gasped Marisa. "You look like one of those okame dolls!" She rolled onto her back and thumped her fists on the bed. Then she flipped herself back up. "How does it taste?"

Reimu quickly chewed and swallowed. "Delishush," she said.

Marisa's expression was melodramatically sad. "Delishush? Aww. I should have ordered one too."

"You can have the rest," said Reimu, offering her the glass with the mess of custard and cream and scattered fragments of jelly and fruit.

Marisa shrugged and took it from her, and she took the spoon as well.

As the witch started eating, Reimu looked at her aghast. "You didn't wash the spoon!"

"Oh, don't be such a fuddy-duddy, Reimu," said Marisa, pulling the licked-clean spoon from her mouth. "We're friends, right?"

Friends. "Of course we are," said Reimu.

"What's a few germs among friends?"

Reimu stopped herself before she started on with the lecture she'd usually make about Marisa's inattentiveness to personal cleanliness. Instead she just laughed.

It was just Marisa being Marisa, after all.

The miko sat back down on the bed. "Hey Marisa, do you remember the first time we met?"

"Are you getting all sentimental because of the rice wine?" Marisa's smile was chiding as she placed the now decimated parfait on the bedside table.

"I'm not allowed to be sentimental?"

"Isn't it against some rule or other for the miko of Hakurei to show any weakness at all?"

Reimu sighed. "Now I know you're making fun of me. Am I really that fierce?"

Marisa made no reply. "Of course I remember. You kicked my ass. You don't often forget that."

"But you were just an ordinary witch back then."

"I'm still just an ordinary witch," said Marisa. "Even with the Master Spark, I'm not really in your league. Why are you thinking about that all of a sudden?"

"You're probably right, Marisa. Maybe it's just the rice wine." She took another sip. "You know, I'm kind of glad we didn't discover whoever was crossing the border. It was just nice to spend the day with you, even if we did end up in a love hotel."

Marisa scratched her nose. "Hehe, yeah. You know, I think I could get used to living off Yukari's dime. Maybe we shouldn't go back and just stay here."

At the mention of Yukari, Reimu sighed. "I guess we'll have to really have to find the culprit tomorrow, otherwise Yukari will accuse me of ignoring my duties. We should get some sleep."

"Yeah, I am feeling pretty tired." Marisa scratched her shoulder under the bathrobe.

"The word you're looking for is drunk, Marisa." The truth was, she was feeling a little drunk too.

They went and brushed their teeth. Marisa, who never spent too long doing anything, was finished well-before Reimu and raced back into the bedroom to jump on the bed.

"Wow. This bed is huge. You could fit ten people in it. Or two very athletic people." She threw herself under the covers.

Reimu was glaring at her as she came in from the bathroom, but it quickly softened into a smile at the brightness of Marisa's playful grin.

"Stupid Marisa," she murmured.

She turned off the lights and slid under the bedclothes beside her.


	2. Chapter 2

With the lights off, there was silence for a few moments. Then Marisa's voice piped up.

"Hey Reimu."

"Mmm?"

"You looked sorta serious when I suggested we stay here in the outside world. Have you ever, you know, really thought of giving up the whole miko thing?"

"What? No. Not really."

"I mean, you're always complaining about how you get no donations and how the shrine is falling apart and you've got all those youkai freeloading off you. I just thought..." Marisa's voice trailed off.

"Do I really complain that much?"

"Yeah. You do."

Reimu sighed. "Being a miko is not something you can just give up, Marisa. Someone has to help maintain the border. Yukari's powerful, but she can't do it all by herself. There needs to be a miko of the Hakurei blood as well. Otherwise, Gensoukyou can't be kept safe - or the outside world. Can you imagine what would happen if all the youkai ended up here?"

Marisa chuckled. "Yeah. It's a pretty funny picture."

"It's no laughing matter. The responsibility of protecting the humans of this world has fallen to me, and I can never forsake it."

Marisa shifted onto her side. "You know, Reimu, sometimes you're actually really cool."

Reimu stopped. She felt a blush spreading across her face and neck and was glad it was hidden in the darkness.

Marisa continued. "So I guess all that talk about you preferring youkai to humans is wrong then, huh."

"What talk?"

"Oh, nothing, really. You just seem pretty popular with the youkai, is all."

"Are you talking about Yukari?"

"Among others."

"Well, you're popular as well. What about Alice? You and her seem pretty close."

The witch didn't say anything for a while. Then, "You're pretty close to Yukari as well, aren't you?"

Reimu didn't reply. It was such an unexpected question from Marisa. She sensed the witch roll onto her side and felt her eyes on her. It made her suddenly nervous.

"I suppose," she said at last.

Silence. The shadow that was Marisa didn't move and Reimu realised that more was expected of her, but she didn't really know what to say.

"You two seem to have a pretty good relationship," Marisa continued. "You know, hugging and kissing and stuff like that."

"What?" In the darkness Reimu frowned. "Oh, that. She's always messing around like that."

A pause. "I think she likes you, Reimu."

"I like her too," said Reimu, without really thinking.

Silence. The bedclothes rustled. Reimu's eyes had adjusted to the darkness somewhat and she knew that Marisa had turned onto her back.

"I mean, she's a pretty likeable person when you get to know her," Reimu continued, disliking the sudden silence. "When she's not being lewd or annoying."

More rustling. Marisa cleared her throat. Her voice, when it floated across to her, seemed strange.

"No. I mean, do you like like her? Like Renko and Merry like each other. Or those girls we saw in the lobby like each other."

Reimu's heart skipped a beat. She had no idea what to say. The silence went for longer than she realised.

"Like you and Alice, you mean?" The words were out before Reimu could stop them. It was probably the only way she would ever be able to broach the subject of the two of them. It was a question she'd wanted to ask for a long time but never had.

Why hadn't she?

Probably because she was afraid of the answer.

Marisa rolled back over to face her, but Reimu was now on her back, staring up at the ceiling. Actually, she already knew the answer. That was why she'd never asked. It was obvious. An obvious, painful truth she'd tried hard to avoid thinking about.

Tears welled in her eyes. She pushed her face into the pillow.

Stupid. Why did she care so much?

"You're right, Reimu," said Marisa at last. The words seemed to come with difficulty. "Alice and I... we were together, once."

Once? Reimu's chest tightened.

"It didn't work out, though. We broke up. Years ago."

Relief mixed with confusion surged in her heart. She'd always suspected but never really believed that Marisa and Alice had... had been involved in that way, but now, to actually hear the witch say it...

Marisa's voice shocked her out of her reverie. "You didn't give me an answer, Reimu."

"Do I like Yukari like that?" It was true that their relationship was a strangely intimate one, and maybe at times it had come close to being something else, but... "No," she said, "Maybe Yukari likes me that way, but I don't feel the same towards her. She's just a very close friend."

"Oh," said the witch at last. "I always kinda assumed that you and her were together."

"What?" A sudden, horrible feeling gripped Reimu. "Does... does everyone think that?"

"I dunno," said Marisa. "It's probably just me, being stupid."

"You're not stupid, Marisa. You know a lot more than me... especially about that sort of thing."

For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Marisa's chuckle danced in the darkness. "Do I really give off that image? Aw, no. My reputation is ruined!"

Reimu snorted. "You're a boastful thief, Marisa. You can't really ruin that kind of reputation."

"Hey!"

"I'm just being honest. I... I want to be honest with you."

Silence. Reimu thought she could sense Marisa smiling beside her in the dark.

"Honest, huh? Well, okay. Why don't we play a game then? We ask each other questions and we have to be totally honest when we answer."

"What? That's not really a game, is it?"

"It is, kinda. Hey, don't tell me you've never played it? Girls play it all the time. You ask each other lewd questions, mostly."

"You play this with Alice?"

"Are you jealous?" Marisa's voice was teasing. "No. Mostly Patchy." She whistled. "Boy, does that girl have some stories to tell."

Reimu didn't ask, even though she was bursting to. "Okay," she said.

"You can go first," said Marisa.

Reimu fidgeted in the darkness. Why on earth was she going along with this stupid game? But there were things she wanted to know about Marisa. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the fact that they were in the outside world, or maybe it was just the whole stupid love hotel business, but there was a freedom she hadn't felt for a long time. She knew she'd regret it if she didn't make the most of it.

"Why did you and Alice break up?"

Marisa chuckled. "We used to argue all the time over the stupidest things. Then we just decided one day that the whole relationship thing was destroying our friendship and that we'd made better friends than lovers, so we kinda just broke it off." She sighed. "Actually, I think I annoyed her by turning up at her house all the time and borrowing things."

"So, you-"

"Hey!" the witch-girl interrupted. "That sounds like another question. It's my turn."

"Go ahead," said Reimu. Her heart beat faster. She knew she'd have to be just as honest with Marisa as she'd been with her.

"Have you ever gone out with anyone?"

It was a gentle question, but her heart skipped despite the fact. Marisa was being considerate, she realised, but somehow that made her feel even more nervous.

"Yes," she said.

Silence. Then, "Aw, c'mon Reimu. I gave you a bit more than just that."

"Okay," said Reimu. "I've told you about the whole Hakurei shrine tradition before, right?"

"That 'Hakurei blood' thing?"

"Yes. To keep the border strong the mikos must be related to one another. I'm an only child, so that means the only way to keep the tradition going is for me to have a daughter. And so Yukari is always setting me up, I guess you could call it, with boys from the Human Village."

"Wow," said Marisa. "You've been keeping that under wraps pretty well."

Reimu blushed in the dark. "Oh, it's not like I've gone out with every one of them. I think my taste and Yukari's are a bit too different."

"'Every one of them'," repeated Marisa. "So you've been out with at least one, right?"

"That sounds like another question," said Reimu, delighted at the chance to turn the tables. "Me first. Have you gone out with a boy before?"

"Nope. Never."

Reimu was surprised. "So... so you've only ever... Wait, that's another question isn't it?"

"I'll answer anyway," said Marisa, laughter warming her voice. "I don't want to short change you after complaining about it myself. Yeah, I guess I just like girls. I mean, it's not like I hate boys or anything like that, but..." She kicked her legs up and down under the covers. "Aw, it's a bit hard to explain. I guess guys just do nothing for me." She stopped kicking. "Okay, my turn. So you've been out with at least one boy. Is it anyone I know?"

"I don't think so."

"What's his name?"

Reimu's silence was heavy, so after a while Marisa said, "Actually, I take that one back. I don't really need to know."

"You can ask me another question," said Reimu. The relief in her voice was palpable.

"Can I make it a really personal one, then?"

Personal? "Go ahead," she said. Marisa had been kind to her by taking back the previous question, so she guessed she owed it to her.

"Reimu... are you still a virgin?"

"No." There was no hesitation before she answered. She'd known the question was coming and somehow she felt that if she was straight forward in the way she answered it would be somehow easier. It was.

But there was silence afterwards. Marisa said nothing and Reimu began to wonder whether she'd even heard her answer. When the witch spoke at last, her voice was soft.

"It's funny," she said. "I guess I'm the one who's still a virgin, technically, since I've never been with a boy before."

Reimu made no reply. Marisa's words had shocked her. She'd always thought that Marisa was the more experienced one, and now it seemed...

"I don't think you count as a virgin if you've made love to another girl," said Reimu at last. The silence was growing dark, somehow, and she knew she had to say something. She had no idea if it was the right thing to say, though.

But Marisa's voice seemed lighter when she spoke. "Huh! I guess you're right. So... how was it?"

They weren't following the rules any more, but Reimu didn't care. Talking about this kind of thing was embarrassing, but also thrilling. Why was that?

It was the danger of an answer hurting her, she realised, of Marisa saying something that would break her heart. Maybe Marisa was feeling the same. It was a dangerous game, but she couldn't stop playing it. Not now.

"It was okay," Reimu said at last. "I think he enjoyed it more than I did. Maybe I'm just bad at it."

"Huh. I find that hard to believe," said Marisa.

The warmth and humour in her voice made Reimu feel better. The memory that had come to her as she'd answered had been surprisingly raw. Not the memory of that first time, but how the two of them... how it had ended.

"I... I think I was just trying too hard," she said at last. "That's the reason we broke up. I was trying too hard to make it perfect, to make everything work."

She felt Marisa's hand on her shoulder where her bathrobe had slipped down. The suddenness of the witch-girl's bare skin touching her own made her heart skip, but the weight of her friend's hand calmed her. She placed her own hand on Marisa's and squeezed it.

Marisa's hand withdrew.

It was a dangerous game, Reimu realised, and one which was moving towards a point. That question. She'd been dancing around it, frightened to ask, but it had got to the point now that if she didn't ask it, it would end up festering inside her. It had already begun to, she realised. It was what made her seem so fierce, made her irritable and snippy around Marisa. Even with all her annoying habits, the witch girl had only ever shown her kindness. Grinning at her sarcasm and scolding, smiling, always smiling at her, that smile that threatened to make Reimu feel so happy she was afraid she'd split apart if she let it. Why was she always running away from happiness?

Because she was worried that if she ever let herself be happy, it would be stolen away from her.

But it was too late to turn back now, wasn't it? Marisa, that little thief, had already stolen her heart away and it was hers to break if she wanted to. Reimu couldn't escape that fact now, here, with the two of them so close together under the bedclothes, Marisa's warmth and scent within arms' reach of her. It was Marisa she wanted, to be with her like this, not just as friends, but...

She might as well ask the question.

"Marisa, can I ask you something?"

Marisa stirred. She murmured as if she'd begun to drift off to sleep. "Mmm? We're still playing?"

"I guess," said Reimu. No more hesitating. She felt her chest constrict until it seemed like her ribs were squeezing the life from her. Her eyes, wide open and staring up at the ceiling invisible in the darkness, were hot. "Marisa, uh..."

Just ask it, you coward. Ask! There will never, ever be a better time.

"Do you... do you have a special someone?"

Silence followed. The darkness crowded in on Reimu, like a suffocating blanket. Why was Marisa taking so long to answer? Was she... was she worried about what her reaction might..?

"Yeah," said Marisa. "I do."

Reimu closed her eyes. Her heart stopped, grew chill without its flow of blood, sunk in her chest like a lump of ice. She felt herself begin to tremble.

Stupid. Of course she had someone. Of course she did. Marisa, beautiful, popular, happy-go-lucky Marisa with her smile and her energy and...

"Who?" whispered Reimu. "Who is it?"

Silence. Again. Worse this time. Reimu's mind fled, flying towards the answers she most dreaded. Patchy?

Patchy. The two of them together, in a secluded part of the Scarlet Devil Mansion's library. Marisa, the 'borrowing' of books just an excuse to be with the beautiful and mysterious magician. The two of them, there, in the candlelit twilight, the bookshelves like great cliffs about them, the tea service swept from the table as Marisa leaned forward to...

Or Nitori?

Nitori. The two of them growing close during the incident in Former Hell. Nitori, the adorable little kappa, always with that smudge of oil on her cheek. Marisa, joking with her, Nitori's innocent blushing, the delight on her face whenever she was with her. The way she looked at her, her shyness forgotten...

Tears. Stupid, cowardly tears. They burned Reimu's eyes as she squeezed them tightly shut. She clutched at her pillow, her hands claws, as if terrified it would be taken from her too.

"I know her, don't I?" Reimu's voice was surprisingly steady, although her throat was tight and her head choked everywhere by hot tears.

A hand. Marisa's hand, warm and strong and steady, on her own. Why? Why was she...?

With the answer came the final horror.

Marisa knew how she felt about her. She knew that her heart was breaking and Marisa, beautiful, kind-hearted Marisa was... feeling sorry for her.

Marisa's voice. Answering her at last. Disembodied, hovering in the darkness about her.

"Yeah, you know her. She's pretty cute, but she can be a bit scary at times."

A youkai, then? "Does... does she know? How you feel?" Maybe, maybe if Marisa hadn't confessed to her yet, then maybe she could...

"Funny thing is, I always thought she did," said the witch. "I always thought she was trying to be kind to me by ignoring it because she loved someone else. But now I know she's just clueless."

"Who is she?" Reimu whispered.

A strange sound. Was... was Marisa giggling? It couldn't be anything else. Marisa was trying to stifle a giggle and failing. She was laughing at her!

Reimu felt all the despair and loss that had been building up in her explode into anger. She jerked upright, her entire body trembling, ready to shout at her, to demand Marisa stop playing with her and put her out of this hideous torment, but before she could say anything the witch's lips were pressing against hers and no sound could escape.

Reimu froze. Her friend's lips, warm and soft, were flush against hers, her breath moist. The trembling in her body grew worse.

Then the lips pulled a fraction away.

"Reimu." Marisa's voice was so soft that Reimu felt more than heard the words as breath against her face.

"What?" she whispered, still reeling from the kiss.

"That's her name," said the witch. "The name of the one that I like. My special someone."

The tension in Reimu's body broke and she crumbled. The tears, held back for so long, spilled from her and she sobbed, a long sob that set her body shaking.

"Reimu?" Marisa pulled away, shocked at her reaction. "Reimu?"

"Marisa!" Reimu could barely form the word, so wracked was her body with sobbing.

Marisa took Reimu's hand and brought it to her face. The miko felt the hot wetness of the witch-girl's tears on the softness of her cheek.

"I love you Reimu," Marisa whispered, crushing the hand to her as if it was her lifeline. "Please... please tell me you feel the same way. Please don't cry."

"Marisa, I... I can't stop crying." She reached down and, grabbing the witch's free hand in her own, she entwined their fingers together and brought them to her lips. "It's just... I think I'm just too happy."

"Does... does that mean..?"

"Stupid Marisa," Reimu muttered against her hand. "Don't make me say it."

"Uh..." Marisa's voice was subdued, so totally unlike her. "Then I guess my next question is 'Will you go out with me?'"

"Let me think about it." Then Reimu chuckled, the laughter so mixed with the thickness of her emotion that it was more like a sob. "Yes. Yes, I will."

The lights flashed on. Marisa was leaning over her. Reimu blinked at the sudden brightness, dislodging the tears remaining in her eyes.

"Don't look at me!" she cried, jerking her face away. "My eyes, the tears... I must look ugly."

Marisa gently turned Reimu's face away from the pillow. "There's no way you will ever look ugly to me." And then she kissed each of the girl's swollen eyes in turn.

Reimu sobbed and threw her arms around the witch. At that moment she needed to hold her, to cling to her, to feel that she was real. Marisa's still-wet hair stuck to her face and all Reimu could think about was how all she could smell was Marisa - her hair, her skin, her breath.

The witch was staring into her eyes, her own wide golden eyes strangely demure. "Reimu, is it... is it okay if I kiss you?"

So hesitant and unsure, and so unlike the usual Marisa!

"Just do it," murmured Reimu, heart-stricken by how cute her friend was. "You don't have to ask permission. We're going out now, right? Anyway, you kissed me before without asking."

Marisa brought her face close, tentative and nervous. Reimu, impatient, darted forward and brought their lips together, at the same time pulling the witch down on top of her with her all her weight.

Marisa, emboldened, kissed her, and Reimu parted her lips, meeting the tongue that slipped inside her mouth with her own. Marisa's kiss was exquisitely soft and shy, and Reimu marvelled at how different it was from what she had expected.

As they broke the kiss, Reimu looked up at Marisa from beneath the darkness of her thick lashes.

"I don't think I've ever been kissed like that," she sighed.

"Too gentle?" Marisa's gold eyes gleamed as she leaned forward and cupping Reimu's chin with both hands she attacked her mouth with her own.

Reimu squirmed beneath her, feeling the weight of the witch pressing down on her, the hungriness of her kiss, the heat and wetness of her invading tongue. Marisa's hair slid across her suddenly bare collar and shoulder, and Reimu realised her own robe was slipping off her. She struggled to right it, but Marisa's hands fell on her own and stopped her.

"No," murmured Reimu against her lips as Marisa continued to kiss her.

"No?" asked Marisa. She ceased moving her hands. "Should I stop?"

"No," gasped Reimu, clinging to her. "No, don't stop. But, please, turn off the lights."

Marisa grinned. "Shy?"

Reimu nodded, her cheeks bright pink from a mixture of embarrassment and excitement.

In the dark, Reimu felt her robe being taken off and she helped by drawing her arms out of the sleeves. She covered her breasts automatically as they were bared, even though it was impossible in the darkness to see them. Then she heard Marisa slip off her own robe and felt her swing a leg over her body and straddle her. Marisa's stomach pressed flat against hers as she leaned down to kiss her, and Reimu felt the soft weight of the witch's breasts squash against her own. She gasped.

"Am I too heavy?" whispered Marisa. She ran her fingers through the miko's hair as she kissed the area around her ear and neck.

"No, it's just... your boobs..." muttered Reimu.

"My boobs are too heavy?"

"Yes. No. I mean..."

Marisa held Reimu's arms down and kissed her, hard, then drew her lips down across her throat and collar, kissing and biting as she went.

Reimu squirmed beneath her. "Please... Marisa... Don't," she gasped. "It'll leave a mark. Everyone will see."

"I want everyone to see," said Marisa with a chuckle. "I want everyone to be jealous and wonder who the luckiest girl in Gensoukyou is."

And it wasn't long until Reimu's protests were melting away into gasps of delight as the witch's mouth and hands left a burning path across her body.

-

Marisa crushed Reimu's sweat-slick and trembling body against her as the final waves of the miko's climax washed over her.

"Any of your boys ever make you feel like that?" she whispered.

Reimu shook her head. She was beyond words now. Language and memory were vague and shifting for her: all she could remember was pleasure and all she could feel was the warm, slick body of the one she had loved for so long pressed against her, her smooth arms encircling her and making her feel safe.

She rested her head on Marisa's chest. Fingers were caressing her, stroking her hair, and she began to lightly sob.

"What's the matter?" whispered Marisa.

"I never knew it could be like that."

"It's so strange," Marisa murmured into her hair, "Before tonight I'd never, ever seen you cry and now suddenly I've made you cry twice."

"Stupid Marisa," muttered Reimu, clinging to the witch and breathing in the richness of her scent as sleep stole down upon her. "Stupid, stupid, stupid Marisa..."

-

Reimu woke. She was in a bed and it was dark and someone was snoring beside her. Her heart skipped a beat, but then her memory returned and joy blossomed inside her. Her hands crept across the mattress until she touched bare sleep-warm skin. She drew her fingers along it, feeling the outline of ribs beneath the tender smoothness. Her heart beating faster, she reached up and encountered the great soft promontory of a breast with her fingertips and covered it with her hand. The soft nipple under her palm grew harder and the snoring became a mutter.

"Wha... Reimu?"

Reimu jerked her hand away, guilty, but then she rolled on her side and took Marisa's hands in hers as the witch turned over to face her.

"Is it morning already?" asked Marisa with a yawn.

Reimu shook her head. "I can't sleep. I just... I think I'm just too happy."

Marisa's face closed the short distance between them, and then the witch was kissing her, her hands slipping down to her waist and circling round it to stroke the cheeks of her bottom.

Marisa muttered in delight. "I still can't believe I finally got to touch this."

"Stupid," said Reimu. She drew Marisa's hands away to the witch's disappointment.

"What's wrong?"

"I... I want to make you feel good this time. But..." Reimu pushed her face against Marisa's chest, embarrassed. "I don't really know how to... you know..."

Marisa took the miko's hands in her own. "It's okay," she said, "I'll show you how."

-

The next time they woke it was day. Grey light seeped in from around the edges of the blinds on the window. Marisa woke first. She sat up in bed yawning mightily and scratching her stomach. The movement roused Reimu who muttered and rolled over in an attempt to go back to sleep.

"C'mon sleepy," said Marisa, nudging her with an elbow. "We have to get moving. If I remember right, if we leave too late we have to pay for another night."

Reimu muttered something about Yukari's money and Marisa laughed.

"I guess you haven't looked at the room service bill. We just about spent all of it," she said. "Well, there's maybe a bit left for breakfast and a few other things, but that's about it."

Reimu sat up. "We ate and drank that much?"

"Guess so," Marisa scratched her nose. "Although I think I was probably doing all the drinking."

"I had most of the parfait, though."

"I remember."

Reimu, blushing, sneaked a glance at Marisa as the witch rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She lingered on the pink smoothness the witch's shoulders and breasts, covered with her dishevelled blonde hair. Last night, with the lights off, it had all been about sound and touch and taste and smell, but now, in the grey daylight, Reimu couldn't resist feasting her eyes on her lover's naked body.

Marisa caught her peeping and grabbed up the sheet to cover herself, mock-angry. "Hey! What're you looking at?"

Reimu lowered her eyes. Despite her embarrassment, a smile flashed across her lips. "I- I was just thinking how beautiful you are."

Marisa blushed this time. She looked askance at Reimu. "You're the beauty of the relationship, Reimu."

"What?"

"I mean, with your nadeshiko hair, that beautiful pale skin of yours. I'm covered in freckles."

"Marisa, you have maybe six freckles."

"I'm too top heavy, too." She pouted as she poked one breast which gave the slightest of wobbles.

Reimu's smile was shy. "I love your breasts."

"You do?" Marisa chuckled. "Yeah. I guess you do. They got a lot of attention last night. My nipples are still sore."

"Marisa!" Reimu grabbed up her pillow and tossed it at her.

"Okay, okay! Let's get dressed."

"Why don't we have a bath first?"

Marisa grinned. "I guess we have the time."

-

They were drying themselves when there was a knock on the door.

"Probably the laundry service," said Marisa. "Bang on time." She towelled the glistening surface of one breast and winced. "Ow."

Reimu's face reddened. "I'm sorry. I... I shouldn't bite."

"Hehe," said Marisa. "No, I like it when you do. I'm just feeling ravished all over again like last night."

"You were the one who said we shouldn't waste the opportunity," Reimu protested.

"It's fun doing it in the bath, isn't it? Everything's so slippery."

Reimu said nothing but finished towelling her hair and swept the towel around her middle. "I'll get the clothes."

Again dressed in her outside world clothes, Marisa sighed. She reached back under her skirt and adjusted her pants.

"You know, I won't miss these things. They keep riding up my butt. I can't wait to get back in my old bloomers."

"Oh, I don't know," said Reimu. "They have a certain charm." She paused from brushing her hair to flip the hem of Marisa's skirt with her brush. The witch yelped and pulled her skirt back down.

"Hey! If you're trying to start something again-"

Reimu shook her head. "We have to go, don't we?"

As the door closed behind them, Reimu felt a sudden twinge of melancholy. While Marisa rummaged through her handbag to check over all the toiletries she'd 'borrowed', she turned and ran her fingers across the number on the door.

304. She'd remember that number for the rest of her life.

Marisa paid the room service bill at the front desk while Reimu stood just outside of the corridor that led to the elevator, looking ill at ease. They met no one as they left, and Reimu began to relax.

"You worried someone might see us?" asked Marisa.

Reimu made no reply.

Marisa's face grew serious. "Reimu, you're not... you know, ashamed of..."

But Reimu was already slipping her hand into hers and the witch's words were cut off by the joyful grin that sprang onto her face.

"I'll never be ashamed of you," said Reimu, "Even if you are a thief and a troublemaker."

They walked through the early morning coolness. There were few people in the street, which looked grey and sleepy still after all the light and excitement of the city at night. A store-keeper poured water onto the sidewalk in front of them and began to brush it. He watched them pass, hand in hand, and Reimu felt suddenly shy. But he smiled and said a soft good morning, which the two echoed.

Somehow, the store keeper's kindness brought everything to perfect completion. They walked together in silence, the world passing about them like a dream.

"Ya know," said Marisa, suddenly. "We still haven't found out who's been crossing the border."

Reimu sighed. "You're right, of course. We still have a job to do. It's why we came here, after all."

"It'll probably take all day."

"Probably," said Reimu.

"We'll need some energy if we're going to be able to keep walking around like this. We used up a lot already this morning."

Reimu slapped her hand lightly. "Marisa!"

Marisa grinned. "I'm just sayin'."

They were back on the main street now, and there were cars on the road and people had started to appear. There was a smell of freshly baked bread as they passed a bakery

Reimu's stomach rumbled. "I suppose we can maybe stop for breakfast," she said. "How much money do we have left?"

Marisa handed her the little stack of bills.

"It's enough," said the miko. "No beer for you, though."

"Aw," said Marisa. Then her eyes flashed. "Coffee then?"

"I thought you said you'd never drink it again after all that can coffee you had yesterday."

Marisa shrugged. "I mean real coffee." She indicated a café on the other side of the street with a nod of her head. It was already open, but there were only a few people there. "How about there?"

"Okay," said Reimu.

As they waited for the lights to change, Reimu squeezed Marisa's hand. "I just realised something," she said.

"What's that?"

"This is our first date."

"Yeah, it is, isn't it?"

Reimu sighed and placed her head on Marisa's shoulder. The witch went red, but she didn't try and move it.

-

Marisa set the remains of her caramel macchiato on the table and popped a final fragment of blueberry muffin in her mouth.

"Well, I guess we should get going," she said. "Those perpetrators aren't going to catch themselves, after all."

"Are you okay?" Reimu looked at her. "It's not like you to actually want to do a job."

Marisa's eyes narrowed. "Are you calling me lazy?"

"Yes, I am."

The witch pouted. "Ya know, just 'cause you're pretty doesn't mean you can be a bully."

"I'm sorry," murmured Reimu. "Where do you think we should start, then? Back at the University?"

"Well, I picked this up at the hotel," said Marisa, taking out a pamphlet from her handbag. "It's a list of famous spots around the city. I thought maybe we could, you know, go check them out. See if we can dig up some new leads or something."

Reimu took the pamphlet. "'Kyoto for Couples'?" A shy smile burst onto her face and her eyes began to glisten. "That's right. We're... we're a couple now, aren't we."

Marisa chuckled. "Well," she said, pointing to the various attractions displayed in the pamphlet. "I thought we might investigate the amusement park first. Then this cake shop. They have this all-you-can-eat in one hour thing."

"Really?" said Reimu, intrigued.

"And you never know," continued Marisa. "The ones we're looking for might even be hiding on this little island in the centre of the lake in the park. We'd have to rent one of those goose-boats with the pedals to go check it out, though."

"Swan-boats," murmured Reimu.

"Whatever."

Reimu reached across the table and placed her hand on Marisa's. "I think it's a great idea," she said.

-

The entire surface of the lake was sparkling in the late-afternoon sun. Reimu looked out across it at the other little swan-boats gliding about and it seemed to her like they were floating on a sea of molten gold.

"Hey, are you pedalling?" asked Marisa, breathless as she struggled to keep their own swan-boat in motion.

"Sorry," said Reimu. She slipped her feet back onto the pedals, but she kept gazing. Everything seemed so beautiful to her, so fresh and aglow as in a dream. She glanced at Marisa. The redness of the witch's face, the little beads of sweat on her forehead and her periodic grunts assured her that it was all very real.

Reimu slipped her hand onto Marisa's. The witch stopped pedalling and turned to her, grinning.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," said Reimu, smiling back at her.

Marisa's eyes focussed on something behind her and surprise flashed across her face.

"What is it?" asked Reimu, her smile turning mischievous. "Don't tell me you just spotted the perpetrators?"

Marisa shook her head, the grin on her face conspiratorial. "No, but look who it is!"

Reimu turned. There, in a little swan-boat not far from them, were Renko and Merry. The dark-haired girl was pedalling as hard as she could while also trying to keep hold of Merry, who had leaned out of the boat to take a photo of a duck that was floating nearby.

Merry spotted them and began to wave, which almost caused Renko to drop her into the water, but somehow she managed to pull her back into the boat before she did.

The two girls smiled and continued to wave as they passed by, and Marisa leaned over Reimu to wave back. With the witch's body pressed against hers, Reimu found herself blushing, but she did manage to raise a hand in greeting as well.

"They really are a cute couple, aren't they?" said Reimu with a sigh.

"Yeah," said Marisa. "But not as cute as us." And then she turned and kissed her, and for Reimu in that moment all the swans floating on their sea of gold dissolved away and there was nothing else except the soft warmth of the lips of the girl she loved more than anything else in the world.

The End 


End file.
